Sour Cherry Charlottes Recipes

Steps:

• Toss together cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside; let cherries thaw slightly, about 35 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pastry brush, generously brush one side of each slice of bread with the butter. Reserve 6 slices; cut remaining slices in half to form 36 rectangles. Line sides and bottom of each cup of a jumbo (6-cup) muffin tin with 6 rectangles, overlapping bread and placing buttered side against tin.
• Toss cherry mixture to combine. Spoon into bread-lined cups. Top each with a reserved bread square, buttered side down; press firmly onto cherries.
• Bake charlottes until tops and sides are golden and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let stand until charlottes have cooled slightly and are just firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Using an offset spatula or knife, loosen sides of charlottes from tin, and unmold; invert onto serving plates. Serve warm, with warm sour cherry compote on the side.

Steps:

• Bring cherries, kirsch, and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Stir in almond extract.
• Heat cream, chocolate, and a pinch of salt in another small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until chocolate is melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon butter, stirring until incorporated, then stir in cooked cherries with any liquid.
• Transfer filling to a metal bowl and freeze, stirring occasionally, until firm but not frozen solid, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cut out 12 rounds from bread slices with cookie cutter, then cut 42 (2- by 1 1/2-inch) rectangles from trimmings and remaining slices. Spread 1 side of each round and rectangle with some of remaining butter. Put 6 rounds, buttered sides down, in molds and line sides with rectangles (5 to 7 per mold), buttered sides against mold, arranging them vertically and slightly overlapping, pressing gently to adhere. Trim any overhang flush with rims.
• Divide filling among molds and top with 6 remaining bread rounds, buttered sides up, pressing gently to fit inside bread rim.
• Bake charlottes in molds on a baking sheet in middle of oven until bread is golden, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then invert plates over charlottes and invert charlottes onto plates. Serve warm.
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Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Beat together butter and 1/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg, chilled, for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture, then add vanilla, beating well. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, salt, and zest until mixture just forms a dough.
• Halve dough and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Heat butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add fresh or frozen cherries with any juices and sugar and simmer, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. (Cherries will exude juices.) Continue to simmer until cherries are tender but not falling apart, about 8 minutes. Stir together water and cornstarch to form a thick paste, then stir into simmering filling and boil, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
• Assemble and bake crostata:
• Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into tart pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold inward, then press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Chill tart shell. Roll out remaining dough in same manner and remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide dough, still on wax paper, onto a baking sheet. Chill strips until firm, about 5 minutes.
• Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread filling in chilled tart shell and arrange 5 strips 1 inch apart across filling, pressing ends onto edge of tart shell. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of pan. Brush lattice top with reserved beaten egg and sprinkle crostata with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake crostata in pan on baking sheet in oven until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, about 1 hour. (If lattice and edges look too brown after 30 minutes, loosely cover with foil.) Cool crostata completely in pan on a rack, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, to allow juices to thicken.

Steps:

• For the pate brisee, place the flour, sugar, salt and butter pieces in owl and crush the butter into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers until combined somewhat but with pieces of butter still visible in the mixture. Add the ice water and stir with a fork just until the mixture holds together. Gather it up, pressing it between your hands to flatten it and make it round, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
• Rub a small amount of flour into a pastry cloth and roll the dough into a very thin circle, about 12 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and gently fit it into the bottom and up the sides of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides of the pan to fill in any holes and make it adhere to the metal. Remove any excess overhanging dough by rolling the rolling pin across the top of the pan. Refrigerate the tart shell for one hour.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the cherries, tapioca, sugar and almond extract. Sprinkle the ground almond-sugar mixture in the pastry shell and arrange the cherry mixture on top. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for one to one-and-a-quarter hours, until the dough is nicely browned. Unmold and serve with strong coffee.

Steps:

• Toss together cherries, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside; let cherries thaw slightly, about 35 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a pastry brush, generously brush one side of each slice of bread with the butter. Reserve 6 slices; cut remaining slices in half to form 36 rectangles. Line sides and bottom of each cup of a jumbo (6-cup) muffin tin with 6 rectangles, overlapping bread and placing buttered side against tin.
• Toss cherry mixture to combine. Spoon into bread-lined cups. Top each with a reserved bread square, buttered side down; press firmly onto cherries.
• Bake charlottes until tops and sides are golden and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack; let stand until charlottes have cooled slightly and are just firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Using an offset spatula or knife, loosen sides of charlottes from tin, and unmold; invert onto serving plates. Serve warm, with warm sour cherry compote on the side.
• Put cherries, sugar, and vinegar into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cherries have burst and mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.